Disappearing door structure



y 9, 1929- E. MORRIS ET AL 1.720.050

DISAPPEARING DOOR STRUCTURE Filed March 27, 1928 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Qittomeg y 9, 2 E. MORRIS ET AL DXSAPPEARING DO OR STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet.

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Patented July 9, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,720,050 PATENT OFFICE.

EDMUND MORRIS AND ANTHONY VANDERVELD, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICIIIGAN, ASSIGNORS TO GRAND RAPIDS STORE EQUIPMENT CORPORATION, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

DISAPPEARING DOOR STRUCTURE.

Application filed March 27, 1928. Serial No. 265,112.

This invention relates to a disappearing door construction adapted for use in conjunction with store furniture sections, sections of sectional bookcases and the like.

Doors of this character are lifted and turned about an upper horizontal axis to a horizontal position and are then moved rearwardly into the section at the upper portion thereof.

It is a primary object and purpose of the present invention to provide a simple, durable and practical mounting for doors of this character in which the movement is equalized as it is moved back and forth in said section and wherein noise or other objectionable features are eliminated.

To these ends, as well as many others not at this time specifically stated but which will hereinafter appear, we have made the invention described in the following description and shown in the accompanying drawing,

in which,

Fig. l is a plan view of the disappearing door structure showing the door in its closed position.

Fig. 2 is a like View showing the door in its upper horizontal position and partly retracted into the section.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section substantially on the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a similar fragmentary section showing the door when it is first turned to horizontal position, and I Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 4, the door being illustrated in section.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawings.

The section in which the door is mounted has vertical ends 1 and back 2, the ends being connected at their upper edges by rearand front rails 3 and 4 while at their lower cdgesthey are connected by suitable cross members (not shown) which in practice may seat between the rails 3 and 4' of the section next below. The front rail 4 has a recess 5 lengthwise thereof at its under side providing 0. depending lip 6 at the front, the upper edge of the door 7 being partly received in the recess 5 and bearing at its front against the lip 6 when the door is in section, is received at its rear edge in a suitable slot in the back 2 of said section,

and terminates at its front a short distance I back of the front edges of the sides 1. At the front the pan is turned upwardly making a lip 10 and the intermediate portion of said lip is bent horizontally to the rear to make a horizontal terminal lip 11 which, as shown in Fig. 5, does not extend the full length of the lip 10. This reinforces the plate or pan 9 at its front edge and gives it greater strength and rigidity.

The door 7 at its inner side and adjacent its upper edge has a pair of hinges 12 connected thereto. One leaf of each of said hinges extends rearwardly and is connected with a vertical pivot pin 13 connected to and projecting upwardly from a sheet metal member 14 which is of substantially triangular shape, the pin 13 being located adjacent one corner of the triangle. The plates are not of exact triangular form, one side of each thereof being curved as shown in Fig. 1.

One corner portion of each of the plates 14 is offset upwardly, as indicated at 14 and the two offset portions are connected by connecting bar 15. The remaining corners of the plates at the rear, as shown in Fig. 1, are connected by a second cross bar 16 pivotally connected to pivot pins 17 and the pins 17 also serve as pivot-s to connect the front ends of two bars 18 to the plates 14. The bars 18 extend rearwardly and at their rear ends, a short distance in front of the back 2 of the section, are pivotally connected at 19 to the supporting plate or pan 9.

An arm 20 is located alongside of the rear end portion of each bar 18 and pivotally connected at its front end at 21 to the plate 9. Each arm 20 is curved at the edge adjacent the bar 18 and in the closed position of the door the rear end of each bar 18 bears for a short portion of its length against the curved edge of its adjacent arm 20. In practice, the curvature of the edges of the arms 20 where. engaging. against the edges of the bars 18 is of a somewhat longer radius than that illustrated, the illustration exaggerating the curvature for a more complete and better disclosure of this featureof the construction. The rear ends of arms 20 have each oneend of a coiled spring 22 connected therewith,

the opposite ends of the springs being se-' cured to suitable pins fixed to and extending upwardly from the plate or pan 9.

At: the rear side and upper edge of the door 7 and adjacent each end thereof, a Z-bar clip 23 is permanently secured having a free offset lip 24 located as shown in Fig. 1. To cooperate therewith a Z-bar 25 is secured to the upper side of the pan 9 near each end thereof and closely adjacent each rectangular bar 8. Each of the Z-bars 25 has a free terminal inwardly extending flange 26 fully shown in Fig. 5.

When the door is in its vertical closed po sition at the front of the section the rearwardly extending leaves of the hinges 12 rest upon the lip 11 at the front of the pan 9 and are held and supported thereon. turning the door to horizontal position,-the first effect is to bring the ends of the door over the front ends of bars 8 thereby lifting the door a short distance and freeing it and the hinges 12 from any contact with the lip 11 described' This is fully illustrated in Fig. 4-.

After this occurred and with the door in the position shown in Fig. 1, the door may be moved.*rearwardly. The rearward movement of the door causes the members 14 to move rearwardly and at the same time turn in a clockwise direction, bar. 15 moving to the rear and bar 16 moving lengthwise laterally while the bars 18 swing in a counterclockwise direction about their pivots .19. This is shown in Fig. 2. lVith this movement the door rearwardly the lips 2 pass under the flanges 26-of the Z-bars secured adjacent the ends of the pan 9 preventing any tend/.mcy of the door to turn by gravity in a downward direction. The first movement of the door to the rear causes the rear end portions of the bars 18'to swing away from the curved edges of arms 20. The door may be moved inward y until it is wholly received within the section.

Closing the door is accomplished by merely moving the same f rward to its extreme front position and then letting the door swing downwardly to its normal vertical closing position. The movement of the door in and out of the section is perfectly equalized. at all times, there is no binding of any of the parts and there is no noise from gears and racks which have heretofore frequently been used to accomplish the equalizing movement. The final portion of the forward movement of the door brings the edges ofthe rear ends of the bars 18 against the curved edges of the arms 20 with a cushioning effectaccompanied by'a slight elongation of the springs 22.

This construction of the disappearing door structure has proved very practical and efficient. ,The parts are all easily fabricated and assembled being readily made from sheet metal at low cost. Ease of movement with total elimination of noise combine to make the disappearing door structure one of reat practical utility. The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

We claim:

1. In combination, a casing having a back and ends and an open front-,a metal plate located horizontally at'the upper portion of said casing between theends thereof, said plate at its front edge being bent upwardly for a short distance and then back to provide a horizontal terminal lip, a door adapted to close the front side of the casin hinges secured to the door adjacent itsupper edge, and equalizing retracting means mounted on said plate and connected with said hinges to equalize the movement of the door inwardly into said casing upon turning the same upwardly to horizontal position and pushing the same to the rear.

2. In combinationpacasin'g havingvertical ends and back and an open front side, a metal plate positioned horizontally at the upper part of said casing between the ends thereof, a door adapted to close the open front of the casing, hinges connected to the door, equalizing means mounted on and above the plate to which said hinges are connected, a reinforcing channel at the front edge of the plate-against which said hinges hear when the door is in closed position, and means at each end of the casing on which the door rides when it is lifted to horizontal position and moved inwardly thereby lifting said hinges from said plate when it is retracted into said casing.

3. In combination with a casing having vertical spaced apart ends,'.a vertical back and an open front, of a horizontal metal plate located in the upper portion of said casing between said ends and in front of said back, a door for closingthe open front of the casing, hinges connected adjacent the upper edge of the door, a pair of substantially triangular shaped plates to which said hinges are connected at one corner thereof, a bar 1. A construction containing the elements in combintaion defined in claim 3, combined with an arm pivotally connected at its front and on said first plate to turn about a vertical axis in front of and to one side of each pivot of the last mentioned bars, said arms at their edges adjacent said bars being of curved form and bearing against the edges of said bars adjacent their pivoted rear ends, and springs connected to said arms drawing the same against said bars.

5. In combination with a casing having vertical ends and back and an open front, of a door adapted to close the open front on said casing, hinge members secured to said door adjacent its upper edge having leaves extending rearwardly, floating metal plates, one for each hinge to which the rearwardly extending leaves of said hinges are attached, parallel bars connecting said floating members and additional bars attached one to each of said floating members and extending rearwardly therefrom and having permanent pivoted connection with said casing at their rear ends.

6. In a construction of the class described, a housing structure having an open front side, a depending vertical door for closing said open side, means mounted at the upper end of the housing to which the door is hingedly connected whereby the same may over which the door passes and against 7 which it rests at its ends during its retraction and after it has been retracted into said housing, a Z-ba-r of metal located adjacent and parallel to each of said first mentioned bars and having an inwardly extending terminal horizontal flange and a Z-bar clip secured at the inner side and adjacent the upper edge of said door near each end thereof terminating in a lip spaced a short distance from the rear side of said door, said lips on the clips passing underneath the terminal flanges of said Z-bars when the door is retracted into said housing structure.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

EDMUND MORRIS. ANTHONY VANDERVELD. 

